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Stand Your Ground laws explained

Though former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman's defense never cited Stand Your Ground laws in its case, the jury was instructed to consider them during deliberations. The jury acquitted Zimmerman of all charges in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

Take a look at which other states have similar laws and how the laws actually work.

Stand Your Ground laws eliminate the legal requirement that a person threatened outside of his or her own home retreat rather than use force.

First adopted in Florida in 2005, Stand Your Ground laws were drafted and promoted by the National Rifle Association and have since been enacted in some form in 22 states.

The Florida version of the law states, "A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony."

In a study done last year by the Tampa Bay Times, nearly 200 Florida Stand Your Ground cases were analyzed. Among the findings was the fact that those who invoke Stand Your Ground to avoid prosecution have been extremely successful. Nearly 70 percent have gone free.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott met with protesters on the night of July 18 and defended his position to not amend his state's law.